Wood heel



R. A. WENTWORTH.

WOOD HEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22,192].

1,435,67 failfimfid Nov. 14, 1922.,

Fatentecl Nov. 14, 1922.

entree stares PATENT ()FFH'CCE.

RALPH ARNOLD WENTWORTH, OF VERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOH TO SLIPPERCITY WOOD HEEL COMPANY, OF HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, A

CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

woo]: HEEL.

Application filed July 22 heels, in which the heel is of considerableheight and has a relatively large base portion and small tread face,with a relatively narrow intermediate waist portion, substantiallysmallerv in cross sectional areathan said face.

Heels of this character are made so thatv the grain of the wood extendstransversely ofthe height, so that the waist portion is a point of greatweakness, and-much difficulty is encountered by. the breaking off of thetread portion at or adjacent the middle of the waist portion. a

In attempting to strengthen the heel at this point several expedientshave been employe the most common being to insert a wood 11 dowel fromthe middle of the tread face, or face to which the top lift is attachedand to extend the same into the base portion. This method isunsatisfactory, for the several reasons. The. dowel is liable to becomeloose in the hole which is bored to receive it, on account of shrinkageof the wood, and it is practically impossible to use glue effectively inconnectin the dowel to the heel, so as to avoid this difiiculty, as thedowel must fit tightly in the hole which is bored therefor, and the gluein the hole or on the dowel is scraped oli in forcing the dowel into theheel. Consequently, in case the heel becomes broken at the waist, eitherthe tread portion will come off from the dowel, or it will twist aboutthereon. Moreover, to be effective in preventing breakage in the firstinstance, the tread portion must be rigidly held with relation to thebase portion, which the wooden'dowel fails to do. Another method, is topass a long metal screw thru the heel from either end, in the samelocation as the dowel. This arrangement, while more eifective, in somerespects, than the wooden dowel, is objectionable on account of theextra expense of placing it in position, and on account of the fact thatit is customary to pass a brass screw 1921. Serial No. 486,664.

thru the middle portion of the leather top lift into the heel, for thepurpose of attach ing the lift more securely, andthis screw is I liableto be inserted in such a position as to encounter the strengtheningscrew.

The object of my invention is to provide a strengthening means for awood heel which will efi'ectively prevent breakin off and removal ofthetread portion of t e heel, and will also prevent this portion fromtwisting out of position, if, for any reason, the waistportion becomescracked, so that relative movement of the two portions might otherwisebe permitted. r T accomplish this object by so arranging a pair-of metalpins within the heehthat they extend from points at each'side of themiddle offlthe tread face end of the heel convergently to points withinthe base portion, in which they are securely fixed.

For a more complete understanding of my invention, reference is made tothe accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a wood heel which embodies my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof, at the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view thereof from the I tread face end.

Fig. i'is a cross section at line l-4 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing, the heel, which is shown is illustrative of any wellknown form of French heel made of wood, having a base portion a, arelatively narrow waist portion a and a tread face end a to which theusual leather lift 6 is attached by marginal slugs and a centrallylocated screw 0. As is the case with all such heels, the sides thereofextend convergently from each end to said waist portion.

According to my invention, in the manufacture of the heel, two holes arebored therein from the tread face a from points equidistant from and ateach side of the point of said face which may be consideredapproximately its middle point, and into which the brass screw 0 isusually inserted, said holes being extended convergently in a planewhich is parallel to portions of the'heel vergence of the holes isapproximately the same, and corresponds approximately to the taper ofthe tread-end portion of the heel. It is also such that theholes do notintersect at their inner ends, but terminate in the base portion, at asubstantial distance from the base surface of the heel.

A round steel pin d, of uniform diameter thruout its length, is thenforced into each of said holes, the diameter of which is slightly lessthan that of the pins which are forced therein, so that the frictionalengagement with the wood is sufficient to retain the pins in place. Theyare of the same length as the holes so that, when in position, they willtouch the bottoms thereof, at their inner ends and be flush with thesurface of, at their outer ends.

The insertion of the metal pins is, obviously, performed previous to theattachment of the top lift, and they are so located that they will notinterfere with the insertion of the lift attaching screw 0.

With the above described construction the combined action of the twometal pins is to hold the tread end portion of the heel much morerigidly with relation to the base portion than it would he held by asingle pin or dowel, so that, in case thewaist portion of the heel issubjected to a severe strain, the strain will be successfully resistedin most instances. In case, however, the heel should become crackedacross the waist portion, the tread-end-portion'will not only be heldagainst turning by the two pins (2, but it will be held againstseparation from the base portion of the heel, by reason of the diverently disposed position of the pins, even if the frictional engagementof the tread end portion with the pins were not sufiicient to hold it inplace, as it cannot possibly slide ofi from both pins at once, underthese conditions. This is highly important, for the reason that theouter portion of the holes are likely to be slightly enlarged by thepins, as they are forced inward, so that their frictional engagementwith the heel is likely to be less with the tread end portion than withthe base portion. In factthe frictional engagement of the inner endportions of the pins with the heel will be much greater than with theother portions, as the inner ends of the holes will, not only, not beenlarged to the same extent as the outer portions will be enlarged bythe driving of the metal pins, but also, in practice, the extreme innerend portions of the holes Will be slightly tapered, so that when thepins, which are cut square at their ends, are forced into theseportions, the frictional engagement at these points will 'be muchgreater than at other points, with the result that the pins will befirmly frictionally attached to the base portion of the heel. It willthus be seen that tread-end-portion of the heel will be firmly held inposition by the pins, if the 'heel should become cracked at the waisteven if the pins fit the tread-end-portions somewhat loosely. Also, if,for any reason, the frictional engagement of the pins with the baseportion should become impaired, at the most, only a slight displacementof the tread end would be permitted, by reason of the convergence of thepins, which cannot be. simultaneously withdrawn from the base portion,while held in the tread portion, and independent removal of the pinswill be prevented, in any event, by the top lift.

I claim 1. A wood heel of the type described, having a pair of dowelstherein convergently extended from the tread face end of the heel, atpoints at opposite sides of the middle of said face, into the baseportion of the heel.

2. A wood heel, of the type described, having a pair of dowels thereinconvergently extended from the tread face end of the heel at points atopposite sides of, and equidistant from the middle of said face, intothe base portion of the heel.

3. A wood heel having a relatively narrow I waist portion, and a pair ofdowels tightly fitted therein throughout their entire lengths, saiddowels being disposed in a plane parallel to portions of the heel breasttread-face end having a metal attachin pin extending therethrough intothe bee between the adjacent ends of the dowels.

In testimony whereof, I have lsigned my name to this specificatio RALPHARNOLD WENTWORTH.

